By Muriel Bristol | January 18, 2026
Asa Piper was born in Acton, ME, March 7, 1757, son of Josiah and Sarah (Davis) Piper.
Rev. Asa Piper, the first minister of Wakefield, was born at Acton, Ms. [Massachusetts], March 9, 1757. His father, Josiah Piper, a respectable farmer, discovering an early inclination in this his youngest son, for reading and the acquisition of knowledge, with that prompt and noble spirit which characterizes so many of the laborious cultivators of the soil in New England, was induced to commit him to the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Swift, the minister of the parish, who like many other excellent clergymen of the past generation, to whom the country will never know its obligations, in the absence of academies fulfilled the double office of minister and preceptor; and not a few were the young men from his own parish and the neighboring towns, whom he prepared for college.
Entering Harvard University at the commencement of the revolutionary war, Mr. Piper graduated in the year 1778. The time of his conversion he could never determine; definite as was the period, the manifestations of the spiritual life were so gradual and silent, that he could only say, in referring to the subject: “Whereas once I was blind, now I see.”
After leaving the university, he pursued the study of theology with Rev. Mr. Adams, the successor of Mr. Swift; and from the association with which Mr. Adams was connected, received a licence to preach the gospel; though the date cannot be ascertained. For several years subsequent to his licensure, he preached in various towns in Massachusetts; but the longest period at Wellfleet on Cape Cod.
When he came to Wakefield, N.H., the town, like most of the region, was but recently settled, and hardly had put off its savage dress. With the fortitude and self-denial of the ministers of that day, he did not refuse to share in the toils the deprivations and sufferings incident to those who entered the unbroken forests, amidst which they erected habitations for themselves, and a house for the worship of God.
Asa Piper appeared in an 1834 list of ministers as having been first “settled,” in Wakefield, NH, September 22, 1785 (American Education Society, 1834).
Sept. 22, 1785, he was ordained the first minister of the town, and pastor of a church, which was gathered on the same day, consisting of five males and four females. For a settlement, the town granted him a lot of land, on which he lived with another tract remote from inhabitants, and useful only for its fuel and timber. His salary was stipulated at $250; which was poorly and irregularly paid, inconsiderable as it was. He continued to discharge his duties as the minister of the town, for twenty-five years (American Education Society, 1839).
Asa Piper graduated from Harvard College in Cambridge, MA, with its class of 1788. He was member of the Phi Beta Kappa [ΦΒΚ] fraternity.
Asa Piper married (1st), April 6, 1788, Mary Cutts. She was born in Portsmouth, NH, January 4, 1766, daughter of Judge Edward and Elizabeth (Gerrish) Cutts.
Mr. Piper was married to Mary Cutts, daughter of Hon. Edward Cutts of Kittery, Me., who was for many years Judge of Probate for the County of York. With her he continued in the marriage state for fifteen years, when she deceased. Their children were eight, five of whom arrived to manhood, and who, with one exception, have for years been professors of religion, which they have adorned and promoted by a consistent life (American Education Society, 1839).
(The known children of Asa and Mary (Cutts) Piper were: Elizabeth Gerrick Piper (1789–1881), Edward Cutts Piper (1790–1881), Mary Ann Piper (1792–1885), Sarah Little Piper (1794–1831), and Asa Leonard Piper (1798–1844)).
Daughter Elizabeth Gerrick Piper was born in Wakefield, NH, July 11, 1789.
Asa Piper headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the First (1790) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 16-plus years [himself] and three females [Mary (Cutts) Piper and two others]. His household appeared between those of Saml Sherburne and Thoms Cloutman.
Son Edward Cutts Piper was born in Wakefield, NH, December 30, 1790.
Daughter Mary Ann “Marianne” Piper was born in Wakefield, NH, October 14, 1792.
Daughter Sarah Little Piper was born in Wakefield, NH, August 14, 1794.
Son Asa Leonard Piper was born in Wakefield, NH, May 20, 1798.
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Caleb Wingate and Elizabeth “Betsy” Palmer, both of Rochester, NH, October 31, 1799.
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Noah Robinson, of Wakefield, NH, and “Mrs. Polly” Jewett, of Rochester, NH, in 1800. (She was a sister of Gilman Jewett and Nathaniel Jewett).
Mary (Cutts) Piper died in Wakefield, NH, January 10, 1802.
Asa Piper married (2nd), in 1802, Sarah Little. She was born in Kennebunk, ME, April 26, 1765, daughter of Rev. Daniel Little.
In the year 1802, Mr. Piper married for his second wife, Sarah Little, daughter of Rev. Daniel Little of Kennebunk, Me., who deceased in the year 1827 (American Education Society, 1839).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the marriage ceremony of Benjamin Scates and Rebecca Ham in Wakefield, NH, September 11, 1803.
Rev. Asa Piper performed the marriage ceremony of Joshua G. Hall and Betsy Plumer in Wakefield, NH, September 9, 1807.
Some of the missionaries in the following list were employed only for a portion of the year from two to six months, and were paid fifty dollars a month. This was the case with most of the missionaries employed in various parts of the District of Maine previous to 1820. Others were engaged in missionary service the whole year, but were only in part supported by the funds of this Society. Some were employed only one year; others were annually re-appointed for a series of years; and with some of these there appears to have been an occasional intermission, when for several years they were not appointed. It was found that a table containing these minute facts would be somewhat complicated. The following list merely gives the names of the persons who have at any time been employed by the Society as missionaries, or school teachers, or agents, with the field of their labor, and the date of their first appointment. …
1805 – Rev. Asa Piper, Rev. Mr. Jewett, and Rev. Elisha Parish, Maine (Society for Propagation of the Gospel, 1887).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Nathaniel Jewett and Nancy J. Rogers, both of Milton, March 18, 1810.
Rev. Asa Piper headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Third (1810) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 45-plus years [himself], one female aged 45-plus years [Sarah (Little) Piper], one male aged 26-44 years, one female aged 26-44 years, one male aged 16-25 years, one female aged 16-25 years, one male aged 10-15 years, one female aged 10-15 years, and one female aged under-10 years.
… at the close of which [twenty-five year] period, 1810, he relinquished his contract with the town, reserving to himself the use of the parsonage with such privileges as he was entitled to enjoy by his continued relation as pastor of the church. His ministry was attended with peculiar trials and embarrassments. In the region generally, as well as in his own town, there was little unity of religious faith, little liberality in sustaining the institutions of the gospel, and but the feeblest spirit of education. An intelligent and able ministry was not appreciated; the most ignorant assumed the office of teachers; and as an inevitable consequence, there was an almost universal outbreak of extravagance and fanaticism. Immediate inspiration was claimed from heaven; and some substantiated their commission as approved ministers of the gospel, by appealing to the fact that they could preach, whilst the world knew that they could not read. It is delightful to witness the improved state of things in the entire region; academies are springing into existence around the beautiful lake of Winnipiscogee, and in the winding vallies formed by its mountains and hills; the spirit of education is becoming universal, among the very classes which once found a sufficient reason for discarding a minister, in the fact that he had been to college, and learned Latin, and was even suspected of having studied Greek; and as a consequence of this improvement in knowledge, religious extravagance is becoming obsolete; the claim to inspiration is abandoned; and they are demanded for teachers to others, who have first been taught themselves. On the day Mr. Piper dissolved his connection with the town, he presented a communication which was entered on the records, from which the following is an extract. “At the time of my induction into the important and solemn office of a religious teacher in this place, the people were few in number; they had but imperfectly subdued the wilderness, and fears were entertained by some that the people would not be able to fulfil their engagements, without bringing poverty and distress upon themselves. But a view of the present state of the town, will show how groundless were these fears. Instead of those temporary humble cottages first erected, and which they would now hardly think sufficient to shelter their herds, you behold comfortable and even elegant habitations. Thus has a kind Providence blessed us; and thus is there exhibited to my eyes irresistible proof that what I have received from the town, has not impoverished them. In justice to myself, I must say I have ever cherished a lively sympathy with the people, and made it my constant endeavor to lighten the burden, and not to forget the poor and unfortunate; ‘in all their afflictions I was afflicted'” (American Education Society, 1839).
Neighboring Milton built its Town House in 1804. It paid temporary “supply” ministers to preach there until it established its own Congregational Society. It paid Rev. Asa Piper of Wakefield, NH, for occasional preaching between 1810 through 1813. (See Milton Town House – 1804 and Milton Congregational Society Petition – 1814).
… The town [of Milton] voted to accept this report. But Mr. Nason did not settle there; he and others conducted services in the meeting-house from time to time, but not regularly as settled ministers. The town accounts show that prior to 1805 the following persons had been paid to preach: Reuben Nason, $82; Mr. Brown, $4; Mr. Bunt, $24; Mr. Pillsbury, $55; Captain Plumer for boarding the ministers, $33; in 1805 the town paid Christopher Page for preaching, $84; Reuben Nason, $34.15; in 1806 paid John Darrance for preaching, $54; in 1807 paid him for preaching, $21; in 1808 paid Mr. Preston for preaching, $5; in 1808 Mr. Papkin for preaching, $30; in 1810 Asa Piper for preaching, $30; in 1811 Asa Piper, $2.50; Mr. Godiny for preaching, $5; in 1812 Asa Piper, $23; Mr. Thurston, $3; in 1813 Asa Piper, $4.50; and Israel Briggs for preaching, $33 (Scales, 1914).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of John Hart and Elizabeth Nutter, both of Milton, November 17, 1811. (She was a sister of William S. Nutter and John Nutter).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Isaac Scates and Betsy Worster, both of Milton, December 1, 1811.
Daughter Marianne Piper married (1st) in Wakefield, NH, January 10, 1814, Peter Horne, both of Wakefield, NH. Her father, Rev. Asa Piper, performed the ceremony. He was born in Wakefield, NH, May 22, 1784, son of Daniel W. and Charity (Place) Horne.
Daughter Elizabeth G. Piper married in Wakefield, NH, January 21, 1814, Porter Kimball Wiggin, both of Wakefield, NH. Her father, Rev. Asa Piper, performed the ceremony. He was born in Exeter, NH, February 17, 1789, son of Joseph and Mehitable (Kimball) Wiggin.
The First Parish of Belfast was organized in 1811. Rev. Alfred Johnson was then the pastor and continued as such until his formal resignation October 2, 1813. From the time of his resignation to the year 1818 there was no regular preaching maintained by the Congregationalists, except that in 1815 the parish voted to hire the Rev. Asa Piper to preach two months (Republican Journal (Belfast, ME), July 27, 1911).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Isaac Hayes and Nancy Palmer, both of Milton, March 9, 1815.
After his connection with the town had ceased, Mr. Piper continued his labors, till the last fifteen years of his life, when an asthmatic affection prohibited his performing more than occasional services, with the exception of two or three terms of missionary labor in the State of Maine. His preaching was nearly confined to his former parish, and was almost gratuitous (American Education Society, 1839).
Wakefield, NH, joined neighboring Milton in a dispute over their militia territory in May 1820. Luther Dearborn (1771-1844) of Wakefield, NH, and John Remick, Jr. (1777-1840) of Milton, were said to have headed their respective lists of petitioners. (Remick was a Milton selectman and both men were justices-of-the-peace in their respective towns). Wakefield’s lifelong Congregational minister, Rev. Asa Piper, is said to have been a proponent of division. (See Milton Militia Dispute – 1820).
Son-in-law Peter Horne died in Wakefield, in 1820. Widowed daughter Marianne ((Piper) Horne married (2nd) in Wakefield, NH, September 7, 1821, Jonathan Pollard.
Daughter Sarah Little Piper married in Wakefield, NH, November 17, 1823, Lewis (or Louis) Dearborn. He was born in Wakefield, NH, December 17, 1794, son of Luther and Sally (Pike) Dearborn.
Sarah (Little) Piper died in Wakefield, NH, October 15, 1827.
Son Edward C. Piper married in Wakefield, NH, May 18, 1828, Sarah Swasey, both of Wakefield, NH. She was born March 18, 1790.
MARRIAGES. In Wakefield, by Rev. Mr. Piper, Mr. Edward C. Piper, to Mrs. Sally Swasey, all of Wakefield (Strafford Enquirer, June 3, 1828).
Sept. 17, 1828, Rev. Samuel Nichols was ordained as his colleague; during whose ministry of five years, he had the pleasure of seeing the church enlarged and strengthened which he had planted under so many discouragements forty-three years before. After the dismission of Mr. Nichols, Mr. Piper occasionally officiated to the church and society, till they were provided with a pastor in the Rev. Nathaniel Barker (American Education Society, 1839).
Rev. Asa Piper performed the Wakefield, NH, marriage of Henry Wiggin and Deborah Hurd, in September, 1829.
Asa Piper headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Fifth (1830) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 70-79 years [himself], one female aged 70-79 years [Sarah (Little) Piper], one female aged 40-49 years, two males aged 30-39 years, one male aged 10-14 years, two females aged 10-14 years, one female aged 5-9 years, and one female aged under-5 years. His household appeared in the enumeration between those of Lewis Dearborn and Benj. H. Whitehouse.
Porter K. Wiggin headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Fifth (1830) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 40-49 years [himself], one female aged 40-49 years [Elizabeth G. (Piper) Wiggin], one male aged 15-19 years, one female aged 10-14 years, one female aged 5-9 years. and one male aged under-5 years. His household appeared in the enumeration between those of Jere. Dearborn and Mark Fernald.
Lewis Dearborn headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Fifth (1830) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 30-39 years [himself], one female aged 30-39 years [Sarah L. (Piper) Dearborn], one male aged 15-19 years, and one male aged 5-9 years [George L. Dearborn].
Daughter Sarah L. (Piper) Dearborn died in Wakefield, NH, November 19, 1831, aged forty years.
DIED. At Great Falls, on Friday, the 18th inst., Mrs. Sarah Dearborn, aged 40 years, wife of Mr. Lewis Dearborn, and daughter of the Rev. Asa Piper, of Wakefield, N.H. (Dover Enquirer, November 29, 1831).
Rev. Asa Piper died in Wakefield, NH, May 17, 1835, aged seventy-four years.
Died. In Wakefield, very suddenly, on the 17th ult., Rev. ASA PIPER, aged 74 years. He was born in Acton, Mass., entered Harvard University in 1774, and graduated in 1778 — While in college he was an excellent scholar, and sustained an unspotted character. He retained his pastoral relation with the Church over which he was placed for the space of fifty years. He preached his fortieth anniversary sermon. As a preacher of the Gospel he was sound in doctrine. His creed was the bible, or orthodoxy and charity united. His feelings were candid and liberal towards those who embraced different opinions; though he adhered to ‘the faith once delivered to the saints.’ He was for the space of 36 years, an active member of the New Hampshire Missionary Society He performed a mission in the state of Maine, to great acceptance. He preached to his people frequently after his dismission from the congregation, and retained his pastoral relation to the church until his death. His first wife was a daughter of Edward Cutts, Esq., of Kittery. His second wife was the only daughter of the Rev. Daniel Little, of Kennebunk. They were both excellent women. He frequently expressed a desire that he might be preserved from painful and protracted sickness. He died in an instant. While the bereaved children are ready to exclaim, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof,” may they catch the falling mantle and learn to die. [Great Falls Jour. (Dover Enquirer, June 2, 1835).
… His death was sudden, occasioned by a disorder of the heart, May 17, 1835, in the 79th year of his age. The talents of Mr. Piper were of a respectable order, though his support and situation were unfavorable to their cultivation; he was particularly fond of historical studies; and the benevolent disposition and good sense he uniformly exhibited, secured to him the confidence and respect of those who knew him. Sound in his views of the gospel, he commended his principles by an exemplary life; and great as were the discouragements which attended his ministry, the advance of education in the town, which now enjoys the advantages of an established and flourishing academy; the more liberal views entertained of the proper support of the ministry; the perpetuation of the glimmering light of truth in his parish and region, till under the less embarrassed labors of his successors, it has become strong and clear, evince that he did not labor in vain, and spend his strength for nought (American Education Society, 1839).
Widowed son-in-law Lewis Dearborn married (2nd) in Somersworth, NH, December 20, 1837, Hannah D. Locke, both of Somersworth. Rev. Alfred Goldsmith performed the ceremony.
Married. At Great Falls, Mr. Lewis Dearborn, to Miss Hannah Locke (Dover Enquirer, December 26, 1837).
Son-in-law Porter K. Wiggin died in Wakefield, NH, April 30, 1840.
Elizabeth [(Piper)] Wiggin headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Sixth (1840) Federal Census. Her household included one female aged 50-59 years [herself], one male aged 30-39 years, one male aged 20-29 years, one female aged 20-29 years, one male aged 15-19 years, and one male aged 5-9 years. Her household appeared in the enumeration between those of Jeremiah Dearborn and Asa Dow. (Her household appeared on the same page as that of her brother, Edward C. Piper).
Edward C. Piper headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Sixth (1840) Federal Census. His household included one male aged 50-59 years [himself], one female aged 50-59 years [Sarah (Swasey) Piper], one male aged 30-39 years, one female aged 20-29 years, one female aged 15-19 years, one male aged 5-9 years, and one female aged 90-99 years. His household appeared in the enumeration between those of Benjamin H. Whitehouse and David Page. (His household appeared on the same page as that of his widowed sister, Elizabeth Wiggin). Two members of hos household were engaged in Agriculture.
Mary Ann [((Piper) Horne)] Pollard headed a Lowell, MA, household at the time of the Sixth (1840) Federal Census. Her household included one female aged 40-49 years [herself], one male aged 20-29 years, one female aged 20-29 years, one female aged 15-19 years, one male aged 10-14 years, one male aged 5-9 years, and one female aged 60-69 years. Three members of her household were engaged in Manufacture and the Trades.
Lewis Dearborn headed a Somersworth, NH, household at the time of the Sixth (1840) Federal Census. His household contained one male aged 30-39 years [himself], one female aged 30-39 years [Hannah D. (Locke) Dearborn], one female aged 20-29 years, and one female aged under-5 years. One member of his household was engaged in Manufacture and the Trades.
Son Asa Leonard Piper (1798–1844) died in Wakefield, NH, November 2, 1844.
Deaths. In Wakefield, Mr. Leonard Piper, son of the late Rev. Asa Piper (Dover Enquirer, November 12, 1844).
J.K. Wiggins, a clerk, aged twenty-five years, [b. NH,] headed a Boston, MA, household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. His household included Chas. P. Wiggins, a clerk, aged eighteen years, [b. NH,] Sarah Wiggins, aged thirty years, [b. NH,] and “Mrs.” [Elizabeth G. (Piper)] Wiggins, aged fifty years [b. NH].
Edward C. Piper, a farmer, aged sixty years (b. NH), headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. His household included Sarah [(Swasey)] Piper, aged sixty years (b. NH), and Joseph F. Piper, a farmer, aged seventeen years (b. NH). Edward C. Piper had real estate valued at $2,000.
Mary C. [(Horne)] Smith, aged thirty-five years (b. NH), headed a Lowell, MA, household at the time of the Seventh (1850) Federal Census. Her household included Mary Ann [((Piper) Horne)] Pollard (b. NH), aged fifty-seven years, John Pollard, a pump maker, aged twenty-two years (b. NH), Caroline Pollard, aged twenty-six years (b. NH), Mary F.A. Smith, aged four years (b. MA), Wm. F. Sherman, a manufacturer, aged twenty-four years (b. MA), Reuben R. Mosey, a manufacturer, aged twenty-four years (b. MA), Amos Colby, a pump maker, aged thirty-five years (b. NH), Job C. Cross, an operator, aged twenty-one years (b. NH), and “Mr.” Lee, an operator, aged forty years (b. VT). Mary C. Smith had real estate valued at $1,500.
John K. Wiggin, engravings, aged thirty-five years (b. NH), headed a Boston, MA, household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Mary J. [(Perry)] Wiggin, aged thirty-three years (b. MA), Bertha Wiggin, aged six months (b. MA), Elizabeth [(Piper)] Wiggin, aged seventy years (b. NH), Sarah M. Wiggin, aged forty-four years (b. NH), Lazarus Murad, a gentleman, aged thirty-two years (b. Judea), Charlie Coffin, a clerk, aged seventeen years (b. MA), George A. Allen, a clerk, aged seventeen years (b. MA), and Mary A. Brigham, aged twenty-five years (b. NH). Edward C. Piper had real estate valued at $13,000 and personal estate valued at $6,000. (J.K. Wiggin had vouched for Lazarus S. Murad at his Boston naturalization, May 15, 1858).
Edward C. Piper, a farmer, aged sixty-nine years (b. NH), headed a Wakefield (“Union P.O.”), NH, household at the time of the Eighth (1860) Federal Census. His household included Sarah [(Swasey)] Piper, aged seventy years (b. NH), Edward C. Piper, a machinist, aged thirty years (b. NH), Henrietta Piper, aged thirty years (b. ME), George F. Piper, a farmer, aged twenty-six years (b. NH), Carrie A. Piper, aged six years (b. MA), and Sarah E. Piper, aged four years (b. ME). Edward C. Piper had real estate valued at $2,500 and personal estate valued at $800.
Daughter-in-law Sarah (Swasey) Piper died January 13, 1866.
Son-in-law Lewis Dearborn died of pleurisy and hydrothorax at 16 Ashland Place in Boston, MA, July 22, 1870, aged seventy-five years, seven months.
DIED. In this city, 22d inst., Mr. Lewis Dearborn (New England Farmer (Boston, MA), July 30, 1870).
John K. Wiggin, a retail book seller, aged forty-five years (b. NH), headed a Boston, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Mary J. [(Perry)] Wiggin, keeping house, aged forty-two years (b. MA), Bertha L. Wiggin, at school, aged ten years (b. MA), Elizabeth G. [(Piper)] Wiggin, no occupation, aged eighty-one years (b. NH), Sarah M. Wiggin, a housekeeper, aged fifty-four years (b. NH), Mary Gage, a school teacher, aged forty years (b. ME), Elmira J. Paul, a school teacher, aged thirty-nine years (b. NH), Nelson M. Holbrook, an author, aged fifty-six years (b. NY), Elizabeth Holbrook, no occupation, aged thirty-nine years (b. NY), and Nelson Holbrook, Jr., at home, aged three years (b. MA). John K. Wiggin had real estate valued at $15,000 and personal estate valued at $5,000. (The unfortunate Nelson J. Holbrook, Jr., was identified as being “idiotic”).
Edward C. Piper, a farmer, aged seventy-nine years (b. NH), headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included George F. Piper, a farmer, aged thirty-six years (b. NH), Mary E. Piper, keeping house, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH), Ada Piper, at home, aged three years (b. NH), Idella Piper, at home, aged one month (b. NH), and Mary Peorea, a housekeeper, aged sixty-eight years (b. NH). Edward C. Piper had real estate valued at $3,000 and personal estate valued at $1,190.
Amos Colby, a pump maker, aged fifty-four years (b. NH), headed a Lowell, MA, household at the time of the Ninth (1870) Federal Census. His household included Mary C. [(Horne) Smith)] Colby, keeping house, aged fifty-five years (b. NH), Edwin A. Colby, at school, aged sixteen years (b. MA), and Mary Ann [((Piper) Horne)] Pollard, no occupation, aged seventy-eight years (b. NH).
Daughter Mary Ann (Piper) Pollard died of old age in Malden, MA, December 4, 1879, aged eighty-seven years, one month, and twenty-seven days.
Mary [(Perry)] Wiggan, aged fifty-two years (b. MA), headed a Boston, MA, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. Her household included her daughter, Bertha Wiggan, aged twenty years (b. NH), her sister, Sarah Wiggan, aged sixty-four years (b. NH), and her mother, Elizabeth [(Piper)] Wiggan, aged ninety years (b. NH). Her household was at 70 West Cedar Street.
George F. Piper, a farmer, aged forty-six years (b. NH), headed a Wakefield, NH, household at the time of the Tenth (1880) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Mary E. Piper, keeping house, aged thirty-six years (b. NH), his children, Ada F. Piper, at school, aged twelve years (b. NH), and Della Piper, at school, aged eleven years (b. NH), his father, Edward C. Piper, aged eighty-nine years (b. NH), and his niece, Carrie A. Piper, a house worker, aged twenty-six years (b. MA).
Son Edward Cutts Piper died of senility and gangrene in Wakefield, NH, February 27, 1881, aged ninety years, two months. J.E. Scruton, M.D., signed the death certificate.
Recent Deaths. Deacon Edward C. Piper died at Wakefield, N.H., Feb. 27, aged ninety years and two months. He was the son of Rev. Asa Piper, who was a native of Mass., a graduate of Harvard and a settled minister of the Congregational order at Wakefield for fifty years. The subject of this notice was fitted for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, entered Harvard at an early age, and remained there three years, when ill health compelled him to relinquish hard study. He retired to the old homestead, where the remainder of his life was spent (Boston Evening Transcript, March 15, 1881).
Daughter Elizabeth G. (Piper) Wiggin died of paralysis at 40 West Cedar Street in Boston, MA, May 30, 1881, aged ninety-one years, eleven months.
References:
American Education Society. (1839, November). American Quarterly Register. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=qgJKAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA130
Find a Grave. (2012, June 19). Sarah Little Piper Dearborn. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92207738/sarah-little-dearborn
Find a Grave. (2012, June 19). Rev. Asa Piper. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92206616/asa-piper
Find a Grave. (2012, June 19). Asa Leonard Piper. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92207837/asa-leonard-piper
Find a Grave. (20212, June 19). Edward Cutts Piper. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92206936/edward-cutts-piper
Find a Grave. (2021, September 29). Mary A. Piper Pollard. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/232538141/mary-a-pollard
Find a Grave. (2012, June 24). Elizabeth Gerrich Piper Wiggin. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92467327/elizabeth-gerrich-wiggin
Scales, John. (1914). History of Strafford County, New Hampshire. Retrieved from www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Strafford_County_New_Hampshir/nGsjAQAAMAAJ?&pg=PA513
Society for Propagation of the Gospel. (1887). Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Indians and Others in North America, 1787-1887. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=ZmUsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40
Stamp Auction Network. (2022). Early Boston Postal History: War of 1812. Retrieved from stampauctionnetwork.com/Y/y12159.cfm
Milton Observer 